- Welcome to Independent Lens.
I'm Pete Schwaba,
host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Tonight, we bring you a documentary
RogerEbert.com calls "bracing and frequently jaw-dropping."
The film is called Beyond Utopia.
Beyond Utopia shows just how desperate
people from North Korea are to escape into South Korea,
the only country in the region that accepts refugees.
If it's not difficult enough leaving your home
despite persecution, those seeking asylum
have to pass through a demilitarized zone
between the two countries that is considered almost impossible.
Much of the time, refugees head north through China
to avoid the zone.
If they are caught, they are returned to North Korea,
where they can face torture or even be sentenced to death.
If they are not captured by authorities,
they might face brokers, who will help them for a price.
This is a much better alternative
than predators who kidnap women
and force them into the sex industry.
The risks these people are willing to take
should say everything about the conditions in their homeland.
Once they are safe in South Korea,
they are subject to deprogramming,
including being taught the Kim Jong Il is not a deity.
Pastor Kim Seungeun works as the film's access character.
Kim is a human rights activist from South Korea
and founder of the Caleb Mission,
an operation that's purpose is
to rescue North Korean defectors.
Kim's Underground Railroad operation
that runs from North Korea to China to Thailand
and then into South Korea has saved over 1,000 people
since 2000.
The film also introduces viewers to the Ro family,
whose struggles we experience through actual footage
that has not been enhanced in any way.
It is authentic, and at times, traumatic.
Beyond Utopia was directed by Madeleine Gavin.
She says she was inspired to make the film
after meeting human rights activist Hyeonseo Lee,
the author of The Girl with Seven Names,
who shared her experiences with Gavin,
opening her eyes to an authentic refugee experience
and showing her the risks they take.
In making the film, Madeleine Gavin took risks
similar to the people she was filming.
She says much of the film was shot
at the Chinese-North Korean border,
one of the most dangerous places in the world.
She credits Pastor Kim almost as a line producer on the film,
as he helped map out how to best negotiate the risks
during filming.
In a recent interview, Gavin sounded not only grateful,
but proud to receive Kim's help,
adding that many filmmakers have approached him in the past.
But in the end, he trusted her
because their objectives were the same.
The film had its premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival,
and won the Audience Favorite Award
for Best U.S. Documentary.
Since then, the film has won a multitude of awards
for directing, editing, and best feature film.
It appears the risks this gutsy filmmaker took
have paid off with the film's most recent accolade:
an Oscar nomination.
Beyond Utopia starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for indepenent film.